SYDNEY is sweating on the fitness of star Tom Papley ahead of its blockbuster qualifying final against Melbourne, after the forward suffered a concussion in the Swans' 14-point win over St Kilda at Marvel Stadium.
Papley was subbed out of the contest in the second quarter on Sunday after his head hit the turf following some friendly fire with teammate Lance Franklin.
Sydney's first final will be played against Melbourne at the MCG on Friday, September 2, when Papley will be eligible to play under the AFL's concussion protocols, provided he is passed fit by the club's doctors.
SAINTS V SWANS Full match details and stats
Coach John Longmire said post-game that Papley was "fine" but he will still need to pass the relevant fitness tests before being cleared to face the Demons.
Despite securing a seventh-successive win, Longmire believes his side was not at its "best" on Sunday evening, as it was dealt a scare from a fast-finishing opponent.
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"St Kilda were good but I thought we were a bit off in the pressure stakes and they were able to get the ball from one end of the ground to the other a bit too easy," Longmire said.
"So a little bit of improving to do, but we were probably not up to the standard we've been at for a probably six-week block.
"So probably a good thing we can get to work this week, head down and keep getting better."
Meanwhile, St Kilda coach Brett Ratten described his side’s performance as indicative of its entire season, as the Saints prepare for a second consecutive September without finals action.
"It probably says a bit about our year, I reckon," Ratten said.
"We're close, we try hard but we just make too many mistakes at critical times and Sydney have been the best performing team in the last month, and we did some things with players out too, we did some things that were pretty encouraging.
"But we just make too many errors at critical times. They're a good team. They'll go deep into September and so we let ourselves down a bit again today."
The Saints coach also sung the praises of the retiring Dan Hannebery who, in his final game, put together a best on ground performance against the side he spent the bulk of his illustrious career plying his trade for.
"I think it's so fitting for a bloke who, not just from our footy club but from the Swans as well, to perform like that against his old team and then to have Joshy Kennedy and 'Steeley' (Jack Steele) carry him off. It's great recognition for him for what a great player he has been," Ratten said.
"Yeah, people say he didn't play as much footy at the Saints, but we've got to recognise his contribution to the game and he didn't play all the games that he wanted to here, but some of his work behind the scenes was very valuable for us and we wish him all the best.
"He's a Saints man but he's a Swans premiership player, so it was really fitting for him to play the way he did."
Longmire, who coached Hannebery for much of his career, also paid tribute to the three-time All-Australian who he believes was "one of the best two-way midfielders" he's seen.
"He was fantastic for us," Longmire said.
"Just his run, his hardness and his energy that he gave to our footy club off the field was enormous. He was just a good person to have around and he was popular amongst our players and that generation of players.
"He had a ripping game today - I should have tagged him. But he sent me a message during the week, a really lovely message and he's just been a popular player for us."
